ROCKFORD — Winnebago County Board members approved a 2 percent tax on hotel stays today to help fund major improvements to a Loves Park sports complex.

A larger debate is on the horizon as board members begin to weigh whether to provide $7 million on top of that tax to help close the funding gap on the Sportscore Two renovations.

The new hotel tax is expected to raise between $12 million and $13 million over 20 years to help finance the construction of seven lighted, artificial turf fields, parking and facilities at Sportscore Two in Loves Park. It would also help fund the expansion of the Indoor Sports Center building for three additional turf fields.

A portion of the tax, about $3 million, would be used to support renovations to the city-owned former Ingersoll building in downtown Rockford. The old manufacturing site will be rebuilt into a riverside indoor sports complex for basketball, volleyball, wrestling, pickleball, trade shows and any other event that can take advantage of 100,000 square feet of hardwood floors.

The goal of the project, which has been in the works for about two years, is to help Rockford recapture its place as a leader in the amateur sports tournament market. A study commissioned by the Rockford Park District and Rockford Area Convention and Visitors Bureau says the new facilities can generate about $16.5 million a year in new income for the region and about $1.9 million in new tax revenue, as well as create about 200 construction jobs and 250 full-time equivalent jobs within five years.

"This is not just parks and recreation," Park District Executive Director Tim Dimke told County Board members on Monday. "This is an economic master plan for growth in tourism and growth in amateur sports and athletics for our entire region."

The new tax means local hotel guests will pay 14 percent tax at checkout. That's ahead of communities like Peoria and Galesburg that have a 13 percent tax, but below Chicago's 16.4 percent. It's also less than Overland Park, Kansas, considered a major competitor for amateur sports tournaments, which has a 17.65 percent hotel tax rate. The new tax is anticipated to go into effect Jan. 1. The Rockford Area Hotel Motel Association has supported the plan because it is believed to draw more people to their businesses.

The Winnebago County Board also OK'd participation in the Winnebago County Regional Tourism Facility Board, a multi-municipality board responsible for spending hotel tax revenue.

The board will likely decide in the next month or two whether contribute $7 million over 20 years to further help finance the $26 million to $29 million Sportscore Two revamp. That request has been met with resistance from board members who say there are larger priorities to tackle.

"In my district I have crime problems, education problems. If I have $7 million, I would prefer to invest it in eduction and to fight crime," County Board member Julio Salgado, D-12, said during a joint meeting of both Democratic and Republican caucuses on Monday.

Page 2 of 2 - Salgado said he supports the project, but questioned whether the spending was justified when there are other pressing needs in the county.

The county would likely draw the $350,000 per year from its landfill fees, which pay for economic development projects. The county already has several other long-term financial commitments from that fund, County Board member Jim Webster, R-2, noted Monday. That includes $460,000 annually through 2026 to pay off BMO Harris Bank Center improvements, $100,000 a year through 2016 to pay debt for Burpee Museum renovations and $100,000 that paid for Nicholas Conservatory's second phase of construction from 2017 to 2023. The fund generates about $3 million each year.

"Somewhere down the road ... are there more pressing needs? Shouldn't we be looking at other ways that we're spending our host fee money?" Webster said to caucus members Monday during an hour-long discussion of the project.

"It seems to me that somehow or another we have to allocate money to take care of what we've got first," Webster said.

Several municipalities will be asked to make contributions to the project. Loves Park alderman approved in October $3.38 million to the project over 20 years — $150,000 this year and $170,000 each year for the next 19 years.

Cherry Valley and Machesney Park will each be asked to contribute $600,000 over 20 years and the Rockford Park District already OK'd a contribution of $6 million over 20 years.

Meanwhile, Rockford officials are working on plans to renovate the Ingersoll building, which could cost as much as $21 million depending on the scope of the project. The city has obtained about $8 million in grants to pay for improvements. That, along with $3 million in hotel tax, $3 million from the Park District and bonds would pay for construction.

The Ingersoll building has helped draw interest for a downtown hotel, RACVB President John Groh told board members Monday. It will also help hotel businesses draw more customers during winter months when capacity typically drops below 40 percent, he said.

The improvements also help local families who can't afford the high costs of traveling to out-of-town tournaments, Dimke said. But it isn't about economic impacts only. It will also provide more active opportunities for a community that struggles with obesity and give troubled kids a safe environment to play, Dimke said.

"The best thing we can do is provide them with quality, constructive, positive activities on a daily basis," he said.